I asked fellow WHP author,
Stacey Thompson-Geer, to come explain to me (and us) how it works to co-write fiction, which is something I have not tried, and couldn't even really visualize. For me, writing is a solitary act, and I have enough trouble agreeing with myself when it comes to creative decisions!
Stacey, it seems, has it down pat, and all laid out for us, right here:
Co-Writing Can Work For You
A lot of writers are not sure about the whole co-writing thing. They may think it’s not going to work because writing is such a personal thing. The problem with this kind of thinking is you could lose out on a great project with a lot of creative minds.
Know Who You’re Working With
One of the biggest things to a good co-writing project is being able to trust the writers you are working with. This often comes down to reading what they may have already done for work or being good friends with them. If you don’t know their style, then you won’t know how your writing is going to mesh with theirs.
Come Up With a Plan
The futuristic Fantasy Octavia, my co-writer, and I have been working on is written in a way that gives us each control over our own characters set in the same kind of world. While these two main characters interact, they also have their own way of thinking and viewing the story the reader is going through. We came up with this plan early so we each could have our own storyline set within the main one. So far it has worked out well.
On a different type of co-writing project, we all came up with a main theme and have written stories based around that theme. This helps to keep us in line with each other, but also helps us to keep something fun and different in each of our stories.
Don’t Be Afraid Of the Twists and Turns
When I started writing the futuristic Fantasy book with a good friend of mine, I didn’t know what was going to happen each time I sent the manuscript to her. She had her own ideas that took the story to places I probably wouldn’t have thought of. This can be great for the story and for the readers. They may think something is going to happen and be surprised when something totally different happens instead.
Co-writing is nothing any writer should be afraid of. It can open up new ideas and new doors for everyone involved and are a ton of fun. Just remember to talk and keep everyone involved floating on the ideas. That way you and the other writers will have a book that is great and have fun doing it.
Stacey Thompson-Geer is an author and a mom. You can find information about her work at her website: www.staceythompsongeer.com.
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